This Is The Absolute Worst Thing You Can Do At Urgent Care, According To Doctors

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Urgent care can be incredibly helpful when you’re injured or ill ― but it’s not always your best option.

If you go to an urgent care center with a health problem that is too urgent, you’re wasting time and will be directed to the nearest hospital’s emergency room. And if you go to the emergency room with a health problem that is not urgent enough, you may be seen eventually ― after spending a small fortune and a lot of time ― but wish you had gone to an urgent care. So how do you figure out which choice is right for you?

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Urgent care doctors say that the absolute worst thing you can do at an urgent care is to be there when you have a real emergency. To which everyone reading this is thinking: “Duh.” But it’s sometimes harder to thread the needle than you might think.

“Urgent care is ideal for rapid assessment and treatment of mild to moderate medical issues such as sprains and sports injuries, lacerations, cold and flu, rashes,” said Dr. Ryan Gibney, an emergency physician and medical director of the emergency department at UCI Irvine – Health, an acute care hospital.

Gibney also said that you may want to consider going to an urgent care center for the following symptoms: “mild stomach pain, urinary symptoms, cuts, bumps, bruises, cough, cold, fever.”

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If you have chest pain, Gibney said, you typically should head straight to the ER, as well as if your stomach pain is more severe than “mild.” He also said that if you have “neurologic complaints,” like you